26

Roselin Henrietta.

This was the name of the lady of a baron's family in the frontier, and she was also responsible for overseeing the maids in this place.

After receiving a great favor from her master in the past, she had pledged her lifelong loyalty and entered this mansion. Never once had she questioned her master's actions.

Until now.

"Do we really… have to go that far?"

"Yes. So make sure to tell everyone. If Hera finds out, let them know the one who spills the secret should be prepared to lose their head."

She couldn't understand.

Her master had clearly said that this girl was precious to her.

Then why was she giving such an order?

"The young lady… will be deeply hurt."

Maybe not right away, but as time went on, her spirit would slowly erode.

However, Athena seemed to find that even better. She even smiled softly.

"That's something I'll have to heal."

"…Do you want the young lady to break?"

"Roselin."

When she looked at her with a cold expression, Roselin realized she had overstepped.

"I'm sorry. I dared to question my master's intentions."

"Enough. Just follow the orders."

Athena waved her hand dismissively, gesturing for her to leave.

Roselin quietly left the office and began to ponder deeply over the orders she'd been given.

'That's right. I must not make judgments on my own.'

There were many things she could not understand about her master's orders.

But it didn't matter.

If her master hadn't been there back then, she would have been lying in a grave somewhere on the frontier instead of being here.

Not just her, but every person in this place had received great favor from the master.

They would all remain steadfastly loyal to her.

Hadn't they vowed to dedicate their lives to her?

They could follow any order.

Even if it meant hurting a naive and lovely young girl.

Roselin walked quietly down the corridor, resolute in her determination.

***

[Come to my office tonight.]

Athena had summoned her, saying she would face punishment for her lie being exposed.

Whatever the punishment was, it seemed to fill her with a greater sense of dread.

"It doesn't seem like something worth such a scolding…"

"Pardon?"

Alina, who heard her mumbling to herself, asked.

"Oh… no, it was nothing. Just talking to myself."

Right now, I am on my way to Athena's office after being summoned by her.

The maid, Alina, had come to guide me again.

Roselin had told me to rely on her help for now, as this place was vast.

Without Alina's guidance, I would probably have become lost in this place.

Just the number of rooms I passed while walking through the hallway was in the dozens.

At first glance, it didn't seem like there were many staff members here. I couldn't understand how they managed to maintain this large mansion.

"This way, miss."

As we reached Athena's office, my hands began to tremble without me realizing it.

'She said the pain will be gone by now… It'll be fine…'

The pain from when she infused me with mana still lingers vividly in my memory.

It felt like my flesh was melting, a heat so intense, as if an unquenchable fire was burning me inside and out.

But since she had said herself that it would never happen again, it should be fine.

'I won't lose.'

No matter the punishment, I would endure it without surrender.

Repeating this to myself like a chant, I opened the door to her office.

I saw Athena sitting at her desk, reviewing some documents.

I had assumed she was a tyrant who lived according to her whims, but seeing her looking so intellectual was a bit surprising.

As I slowly approached her, she looked up from the papers and met my gaze.

"You're here? Sit on the sofa over there for a moment."

With those brief words, she returned to her documents with intense focus.

'If this was going to happen, why call me in now?'

I felt a slight dissatisfaction but wasn't in a position to express it.

So, I quietly sat on the sofa, as she had instructed, and waited.

As time slowly passed, I grew bored from sitting still.

I started playing with my hair, doodling on the sofa cushion with my fingernails, stretching my body to pass the time.

"Sorry. Did you wait long?"

Athena sat beside me and gave me a gentle smile.

For some reason, her relaxed smile felt annoyingly playful.

"Next time… please call me on time."

I timidly voiced my complaint. She brushed my side hair behind my ear and replied,

"For someone who's come to be punished, you're quite bold."

"…I didn't do anything that wrong—"

"Hera. Because of you, an innocent person nearly lost their job. Are you going to keep avoiding it like this?"

"Ugh… So, what punishment…?"

Better to get it over with quickly.

I just wanted to take my punishment and leave as soon as possible.

"Hera, I really hate it when someone touches my belongings."

But Athena, instead of answering my question, started talking about something entirely different.

I looked at her, puzzled by her words that seemed to have no clear intention.

But unlike just moments ago, her expression had turned rather cold.

"What are you suddenly talking about…?"

Athena placed her thumb on my lips and rubbed them gently.

"These lips. How many times have they touched?"

"…What?"

"I'm asking how many times you've kissed those you consider like family."

Was she asking how many times I had kissed them?

Since I greeted Lily and Dania two or three times each day…

It must have been hundreds of times by now.

Looking back, it seemed like I did it quite a lot.

But why is Athena so curious about that?

When I didn't answer, Athena pinched my lips sharply with two fingers.

"Ouch!"

"Hera, when I ask a question, you should answer right away."

"I-I don't know… Just many times…"

Her expression grew even colder.

"So, it's so many that you can't even count?"

As if displeased, she tugged at my lips.

"Ouch…!"

As a sharp pain brought my head closer to her, Athena firmly grabbed both sides of my face with her hands.

"Hera, I don't want to hurt you."

Her golden eyes, as if they could burst into flames, stared intensely into mine.

"But if you disobey my orders, I'll have no choice but to give you a punishment filled with pain."

Could it be… Will I have to endure that pain again like last time?

No way. She said that would be the last time.

But a person's mind can change at any time.

Suppressing the fear that crawled up from that memory, I clenched my trembling hands.

"Let's do it this way. I'll forgive what happened during the last meal. But from now on, no matter what I do, don't move."

Seeing my eyes trembling violently, Athena chuckled softly and stroked my head.

"If you move…"

"If… if I move…?"

"Then I will truly punish you."

"Ouch…"

A punishment filled with pain, she said. That's not something I want to experience.

"What… what are you going to do…?"

What could she possibly do that requires me not to move?

Athena smiled sweetly at my words and brought her face closer to mine.

Close enough for our breaths to mingle.

Her nose brushed against mine, tickling me.

"I hate it when someone touches what's mine."

"I told you earlier."

"Your lips, tainted by those filthy women. I'll clean them until they're pure again."

"W-what do you mean…?"

"So don't move. Because if you do, I'll have to hurt you."

"Wa… wait, ouch?!"

Suddenly, her lips pressed against mine.

I tried to push her away, but she briefly pulled back, speaking in a warning tone.

"Haah… Don't move, Hera. That's an order."

Then, she dove back toward my mouth.

"Wait!… Mm… Mmm…"

Smooch… smooch…

Like she was squeezing something out, her kiss pressed fiercely against my lips, leaving me unable to resist.

As I placed my hands down on the sofa and accepted her, her hand glided over my waist, tickling me.

Flinch-

At Athena's touch, my body trembled.

Perhaps enjoying my reaction, Athena tasted my lips even more aggressively.

Then, slowly, she extended her tongue and licked my lips.

"Hyaa!"

The unfamiliar sensation made my body jump.

Finally, she sucked on my lips one more time before pulling her mouth away.

A sticky, transparent thread of saliva connected us, mingled from both of our mouths.

"Huu… haa…"

As I took a deep breath, her face, flushed with a reddish blush, displayed a mischievous smile.

As if to signal that she wasn't done yet, she grabbed my head with both hands again.

"Hera. We still have a long way to go."

As I managed to catch my breath, she pulled my face closer again.

"Huup?!"

She began invading my mouth again.

For quite a while, in Athena's office, there was nothing but the sound of two women sharing a kiss.

How much time had passed?

Chuup – Chuup

"Ha… ugh… haah…"

She explored every corner of my mouth so thoroughly that I forgot how to breathe.

With all my strength drained by her dizzying tongue play, my body collapsed weakly onto the sofa. Athena climbed on top of me, continuing to explore my lips.

Like a snake coiling around its prey, her tongue wrapped around mine, moving here and there, licking as it went.

My mouth, unable to make any movements, was violated without any resistance.

Chwap Chwap

The faint sound gradually turned into a sloshing noise as her tongue and mine entwined.

Our saliva mixed so thoroughly that I could no longer tell whose was dripping out of my mouth.

The wet stain on the sofa grew larger, little by little.

Finally satisfied, she bit my tongue one last time before releasing my face.

"Haa… haa… huuh…"

Half-dazed, all I could do was gasp for breath, trying to recover.

"Haa… phew… Hera, you really didn't move, did you?"

Breathlessly, she stroked my chin with her fingers, as if praising a puppy.

"Ha… ugh… haa…"

"Fufu… good girl…"

"Huh… why… are you doing this…?"

"I told you, didn't I? I'm going to erase all the traces of others from your lips."

She wiped the saliva dripping from my lips with her hand.

"Every night, for thirty minutes, we'll have this time to erase those traces."

Her provocative words snapped me back to my senses.

"E-Every day?!"

I exclaimed in surprise, and she shrugged.

"How long were you with those girls? Did you think I could erase it all in just one time?"

"B-But… every day…"

The dizzying kiss was so intense that I couldn't even imagine doing it daily.

But Athena, as if it was no big deal, gently caressed my cheek.

"So what? After all…"

With a somewhat sly smile on her face, she said,

"It's just between two girls, right?"

As if it were nothing, she spoke to me.

Athena never liked Lily from the beginning.

A little brat hiding a devious nature behind the mask of a cute child.

The ideas she had planted in Hera's head were so absurd that even Athena couldn't fathom them.

'Kissing between girls? What nonsense…'

Who knows how many times that girl had stolen Hera's pure lips like that? Perhaps she had even done worse.

Truly, there was nothing more obscene.

But.

Despite her dislike for her, just this once, Athena felt grateful to her.

Thanks to the ideas she had planted, Athena found it easy to approach Hera.

Thinking of Hera, who was now solely hers, Athena's face turned red as she imagined the lips she had just tasted.

She smiled lewdly to herself.

To see what happens next.